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The earlier he went, the clearer his conscience would be. If he settled the matter soon, he could return earlier. Besides, he felt that the matter was not that simple, probably implicating the Chief Examiner who had allowed him to enter the examination. It would be better to go earlier.

Lian Bao hesitated, "About mother..."

With a warm smile, Lian Musu reassured him. His smile carried a power that soothed the heart, "When mother wakes up tomorrow, I’ll talk to her about it."

He believed his mother would support him, and with time pressing, if he wanted his leg healed before the imperial examinations, he had to handle this matter as soon as possible.

He would wait until tomorrow. When his mother awoke, he would tell her about both issues. He thought she would be pleased as his injured leg was also one of her greatest concerns.

Upon hearing this, Lian Bao nodded. He understood it all too well, but he couldn’t help but worry about what awaited his elder brother.

However, his brother had always been more thorough in his actions than he was. He should be alright.

Thinking so brought peace to his mind.

Xue Residence.

Steward of Xue Residence, "Master should not be angry, I have already sent Guo family’s young master away."

Xue Ping slammed the teacup lid down hard, his face flush with anger, "That fool, does he even understand what it means to avoid suspicion!"

To openly stop him on his way off duty, claiming it had been long since he had seen his uncle and missed him greatly, and that since they happened to meet, perhaps he could visit the residence and see his aunt as well.

That fool, relying on the bit of help he offered, had grown so bold, not taking his warnings seriously!

If it weren’t for him, Xue Ping, could the Guo family business have grown so large? He was not unaware of the Guo family’s actions of bullying men and oppressing women. If he hadn’t helped smooth things over, could the Guo family still be at peace?

Time and again he had instructed them, during these tumultuous times, to avoid coming to see him unless necessary and to keep their distance so as not to draw attention to the Guo family, especially since that matter...

Yet, Guo Neng had ignored his warnings. That fool, such a moron!

He thought there was some urgent matter, but it turned out that this idiot had captured a family and sent them into exile, and then allowed them to escape.

Upon hearing this, he was so furious that he immediately left.

That idiot, coming to him for such a trivial matter? Just a few commoners, and so many years had passed, what waves could they possibly cause now!

Scared out of his wits over such a minor issue, Xue Ping started to doubt whether it was wise to have entrusted that matter to this idiot!

Luckily, the fool had the sense not to speak out of turn in public.

The steward continued to urge, "Master, please calm down. Perhaps Guo family’s young master didn’t mean any harm, it could truly have been a coincidence. Moreover, in the eyes of others, the two families are relatives. If he had met you, his uncle, and done nothing, it would have seemed improper."

The silver in his sleeve was still heavy; the young master of the Guo family was indeed generous.

Xue Ping scoffed, "You believe him?"

Having been in official circles for so many years, if he couldn’t see through such petty tricks, he would have wasted his life.

The steward dared not make a sound anymore. He had already said his piece; what followed was beyond his control.

Nevertheless, Xue Ping’s expression softened a bit, "By my calculations, the letters should have almost all been received, right?"

The steward was startled for a moment but then realized that the Master was referring to the matter of sending letters to people in the military. He promptly replied, "Master, rest assured, I’ve done everything as you commanded, ensuring nothing can go wrong."

Xue Ping nodded, a trace of weariness on his face.

During the day, he received news that Xu Hu’s daughter, Xu Rongying, was stirring up storms in the Harem, seizing his daughter’s power. He didn’t know what she was plotting.

Did she really think she could topple his daughter that way? Did she believe she could uproot all the people linked to his daughter in the palace? What a joke.

Even if his daughter’s people were cleaned out, he still had his own. Was he really so easy to deal with?

Since the Late Emperor’s time, Xue Ping had established his own influence in the Harem. His people were well hidden, not so easily exposed. What wishful thinking.

This must certainly be backed by Xu Hu, greatly related to the former court’s resurrection of Shen Ming’s matter. To think these martial officers had such wishful thinking to go against him.

Since it had come to this, he wouldn’t be blamed for being ruthless. Let’s see if Xu Hu could keep his daughter safe; with only this one daughter in the place, he wondered if the Emperor would trust Xu Rongying if something happened.

The trap had already been set, just one more stroke and it would be complete.

After some thought, Xue Ping said to the Steward of Xue Residence, "Have someone find an opportunity to send a message to the young miss. Tell her to just stay at ease inside the Harem, she needn’t worry about anything else. Be careful not to be discovered."

Wanjun need not take the field for this matter, nor does she need to get involved at all. If the people are removed cleanly, the control over the Harem will naturally return to her hands.

The steward promptly responded, "Yes."

Rubbing his forehead tiredly, Xue Ping asked, "I heard that the young miss’s headache has worsened again?"

He had only this daughter in the palace; of course, he was very concerned.

With a bowed head, the steward replied, "The news that came back suggested it has become somewhat more severe. The Consort inherited this ailment from the madam, it can only be alleviated and not cured. But my lord need not worry. Although incurable, it poses no other significant harm and doesn’t threaten her life, flaring up only occasionally. "

"Hmm." Xue Ping nodded, relieved as long as it didn’t harm her health or life.

Thinking of the Guo family, he couldn’t suppress his irritation, "Not a single person in the Guo family is of any worth. If they lack ability, so be it, but they are first-rate at dragging one’s feet."

Saying so, he stood up angrily and walked toward the chambers of the recently brought-in concubine, leaving a directive behind, "Tell the madam to keep a tight rein on her family."

The steward respectfully answered "Yes," and saw him out.

He sighed, feeling that the madam was progressively losing the favor of his master. Being a merchant by birth was one thing, but she even passed her sickness to the Consort, the master’s most valued daughter.

Shaking his head, he concluded these were not matters within his control; he should rather focus on handling the task at hand.

As Guo Neng left Xue Residence and mounted his own carriage on the way back, he felt nothing but fury and frustration.

This visit had yielded nothing—no, not exactly nothing; at least he had gotten a belly full of pent-up rage and frustration.

If that old curmudgeon hadn’t refused to see him when he went to present the financial gifts and accounts, would he have come up with such a scheme?

There was no word from his cousin in the palace, and he was as blind as a bat, not knowing the current state of that remaining evil progeny.

The few who had escaped from the penal colony had vanished without a trace, swallowed by the sea, impossible to find.

Moreover, his people had suffered a setback in Yanqing Mansion—they failed to capture the right people and lost a few of their own. They didn’t even know who the opponent was and had to amputate a limb to survive, not daring to probe further.

After the setback at Yanqing Mansion, he grew fearful of complications and increasingly anxious. He immediately sent people to the south again to try to eliminate everyone involved in that past affair.

Regrettably, the people he had previously sent to warn them had made them cautious and vigilant. Recently the news came that they hadn’t finished the job cleanly.

Overall, he was inwardly and outwardly troubled, anxious and constantly on edge, which forced him to take such a desperate measure, seeking assistance from his esteemed uncle.

But his uncle, what good was he? Before he could properly introduce the topic, let alone discuss the main issue, his uncle had turned on his heel and left so abruptly that not even pleas could make him stay.